Springer has released a White Paper on ebook use and attitudes. The study was conducted at Wellesley College. Deborah Lenares of the Margaret Clapp Library at Wellesley College, and Steven Smith, formerly of Wellesley College and now Head of Collection Management at Boston University Libraries co-authored the white paper.

More information, including key findings and links to the full paper, is below:

A new white paper from Springer examines eBook adoption at an undergraduate institution

Conventional wisdom holds that the availability of eBooks and their inherent utility – full text searchability, ease of access, etc. – are what drive use and acceptance. But are these the only factors behind the rate of adoption of eBooks at undergraduate universities? A new Springer white paper by Deborah Lenares of the Margaret Clapp Library at Wellesley College, and Steven Smith, formerly of Wellesley College and now Head of Collection Management at Boston University Libraries, draws on past studies and a new survey of users at Wellesley College to uncover some interesting insights for undergraduate librarians and institutions. The white paper is available both online, and will be distributed at this year’s Electronic Resources and Libraries (ER & L) Conference in Austin, TX. Continue reading Springer releases white paper on eBook use and acceptance in an undergraduate institution→

The following is the introduction: The Return on Investment (RoI) of scholarly eBooks in research and academic libraries can be difficult to determine, as the factors considered can vary from library to library, or even from person to person. RoI can be defined as a performance measure used to quantify and evaluate the efficiency of an investment in library resources or to compare efficiency among different investments. While it may seem simply to be a question of money in versus money out, the real difficulty of expressing the overall value of this resource for an institution comes from many contributing factors:

49,000 eBooks from Springer are now a little more accessible for those with iOS devices. The new app, available for free in the iTunes App Store, provides access to springerlink.com. According to the press release, the new mobile app works on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Nathan Brothers, Springer’s Product Manager for Mobile Application and Platform Development said the app can be used on the iPad in “x2″ compatibility mode. When asked about a forthcoming Android app, Brothers replied, “In general, Springer will continue to deliver high-quality electronic products and information services – designed to meet the specific needs of researchers and information professionals.” Continue reading Springer launches mobile app for iOS devices→

Will we ever have an eBook written by Albert Einstein? YES! Springer announced today plans to digitize their entire backlist, approximately 65,000 titles dating back to 1840. Included are prominent authors like Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Sir John Eccles, Lise Meitner, Werner Siemens, and Rudolf Diesel. They anticipate the digitization process to be complete at the end of 2012, culminating into the Springer Book Archives (SBA).

Here’s more information from the press release:

Springer Science+Business Media has started its extensive digitization project,Springer Book Archives (SBA). The SBA initiative will include nearly all books that have been published since the 1840s. Springer expects that the book archives will contain around 65,000 titles. Titles include academically and historically unique works by Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Sir John Eccles, Lise Meitner, Werner Siemens, and Rudolf Diesel, to name just a few. The works in the digital archives will be available on the company’s platform SpringerLink just like all other Springer books, which have routinely been published in electronic and print versions since 2005. When this mammoth project is completed at the end of 2012, Springer will be able to offer more than 100,000 eBooks on www.springerlink.com. Continue reading Springer to digitize entire eBook archive→

The RUSA/Codes Reference Publishing Advisory Committee sponsored a program at the Annual Conference in New Orleans, “eReference Publishing: Current Issues and Trends in Preservation.” Joseph, Yue, Chair of the committee, moderated the panel discussion. Speakers included:

From the press release: Springer Science+Business Media has launched SpringerReference.com, a new platform for researchers and academic and corporate libraries. It offers living editions of Springer’s eReferences well in advance of their print editions across every subject. Through the platform, scientists can submit updates to articles whenever they want or deem necessary to keep up with the demand for the most recent scientific developments. SpringerReference.com thus offers a way to quickly publish major reference works which need to be constantly updated with the most up-to-date research findings. Continue reading Springer launches eReference platform→

Some highlights from the survey, found in the executive summary on pages 4 – 5, include:

When asked about the use of e-books in their academic work, 58% of survey respondents reported using e-books; 38% reported not using e-books; and 4% were not sure of their e-book usage. Of those reporting not using e-books, the majority report utilizing digital resources, such as e-journals.

Of the survey respondents who indicated a preference (n=2410), 49% prefer print books, 34% prefer e-books, and 17% had no preference or described a preference that is usage-dependent.

Postdoctoral researchers reported the highest preference for e-books over print books (49%), followed by graduate students (35%), faculty and lecturers (33%), and undergraduate students (27%). Respondents in business and law reported the highest preference for e-books (54%), followed by life and health sciences (44%), physical sciences and engineering (32%), social sciences (31%), and arts and humanities (17%).

Undergraduate students indicated the highest preference for print books (58%); many undergraduate respondents commented on the difficulty they have learning, retaining, and concentrating while in front of a computer.

The ability to search within and across e-book content is identified as the primary advantage of e-books, regardless of whether a respondent prefers print book or e-books.

The ability to download the entire e-book to a device for later use is a highly valued feature. Respondents expressed frustration with those e-book vendors that restrict downloading or printing to chapters or other pre-defined sections.

Undergraduate students express the strongest desire for a corresponding print copy of an academic e-book for borrowing from a UC library, with 66% rating it as important.

A surprising 41% of respondents rate the option to purchase a “print-on-demand” copy of an e-book as an important feature, implying that utilization of the service should witness an upward trend.

Received this via email today: Bowker released its annual report on U.S. print book publishing, compiled from its Books In Print® database. Based on preliminary figures from U.S. publishers, Bowker is projecting that despite the popularity of e-books, traditional U.S. print title output in 2010 increased 5%. Output of new titles and editions increased from 302,410 in 2009 to a projected 316,480 in 2010. The 5% increase comes on the heels of a 4% increase the previous year based on the final 2008-2009 figures.

The non-traditional sector continues its explosive growth, increasing 169% from 1,033,065 in 2009 to an amazing 2,776,260 in 2010. These books, marketed almost exclusively on the web, are largely on-demand titles produced by reprint houses specializing in public domain works and by presses catering to self-publishers and ”micro-niche” publications. Continue reading Bowker study shows print is NOT dead→

Springer, who has existingeRetail partnerships with Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and others, announced this week the addition of the Google eBookstore for Springer eBook titles.

From their press release: Springer eBooks can now also be purchased viaGoogle’s eBookstore. Google currently holds the biggest collection of Springer eBooks with more than 52,000 books, which is a combination of physically scanned books published prior to 2006 and PDF file submissions since 2006. Springer adds 4,000 newly published titles per year.

Springer eBooks are also available on Amazon for theKindle, and in the near future Barnes & Noble for theNookStudy.com platform, Kobo Books,B&T BLIO,Entourage and Apple’siBooks, which is now receiving books in the free and open ebook format ePub. Springer will soon also deliver books in ePub format to Amazon for theKindle. Continue reading Springer eBooks now also available in the Google eBookstore→

Springer now offers more than 10,000 books for review on springer.com. The online book review copies encompass all fields of the English-language eBooks that have been published since 2006. This service is designed for journalists, editors and book reviewers who are granted temporary reading access. The list of available titles will be updated continually.

After filling out a simple registration form, reviewers receive access to their selected online book review copies for six months, and are allowed to review up to ten books simultaneously. Books that have not yet been published can be reserved and reviewers are notified by email when they are available. Reviewers can upload their published reviews and once the date of appearance has been confirmed, the reviewer can order a print copy of the book free of charge. Continue reading Springer eBooks now available for online book reviewing→